Welcome to the Piano World Piano ForumsOver 2 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

Very good point! I didn't think of that. Okay not even going to bring it up. Thanks so much. Just one of those silly things you have pinging about your brain you know? Just kinda wanted to shut that idea up. lol

If you can play them easily, then you'll get through them quickly. If they take more work, then you needed the practice.

That is a great quote, 88! I'm going to remember that the next time I turn a page in my lesson book and groan at the song I'm supposed to learn next. Although with these Faber books, I usually groan when I turn the next page and find a tired old song, and then I love the arrangement once I play it.

It sounds like the teacher is working out well for you, Becca! That's great! Keep us updated.

Quick update on my progress: I finished the Developing Artist Preparatory Piano Literature book and have completed the first three pieces in the Piano Lit. Book 1. I'm 3/4 of the way through the Adult Book 2 and I'm working on my first non-Faber piece right now. It's "The Living Years", a pop song from the late eighties. It's a Dan Coates arrangement from and easy piano book, (which doesn't feel very easy at this point). It's taken me a week, but I've almost got it so now I need to get back to my Faber lesson book.

Becca,Well the short answer is I've worked for two months to get here. The more accurate answer is that I've worked for twenty years and two months. I played the trumpet for nine years and the guitar for eleven after that. So the piano is new to me but making music is not. Book one went really fast because I knew all the theory and how to read music, (although I'm pretty weak on reading bass clef). So now that I'm most of the way through Adult Book 2, I'm slowing down to a more "normal" speed because the piano technique is a much bigger deal than understanding theory or being able to read music at this point. I'm hoping to start book 3A this summer.

That's awesome that your son is learning violin. What a cool instrument. My oldest is four and I just bought her the Faber "My First Piano Adventure" so I'm hoping to start her on that soon. I'm really hoping my kids get into music. I don't want to push too hard though. My wife was forced into piano lessons as a kid and has had no desire to make music since.

PianoStudent88,I should be there in a couple of months, I'm nearing the end of Adult Book 2. I usually learn the teacher duet parts, too. Some of them are challenging, the one for Ponies in the Prep. Piano Literature book almost killed me, but they make for neat sounding recordings. And I'm always impressed with the arrangements in these Faber books.

I've been stagnating on the Faber stuff lately because I've been working on other pieces. I learned "In Dreams" from the Lord of the Rings Soundtrack easy piano book, (which is not that easy for me). I learned an easy piano version of The Living Years, and now I'm working on Chopin's Prelude No. 4 in E Minor which is arguably his easiest piece, but still quite a challenge for me. It's coming along nicely though. I've also started Clair de Lune from the Piano from Scratch website which is really cool. The instructor teaches the song one measure at a time, and assumes you have no prior experience on the piano. It's going to take me a couple of years, but it's a lot of fun and I have the first eight bars or so down.

So I need to make more time to finish Adult Book 2 and to continue on the Developing Artist Piano Lit. Book 1. Now that this thread has been resurrected, maybe I'll be motivated to get back to my Faber books.

Methodically working my way through 3A, at 4 pages a week (plus Technique & Artistry). Sometimes I think I could go faster, but I think it's better to make myself be thorough. If I let myself go faster I think I'd be too tempted to cut corners sometimes.

Not terribly common, but not entirely uncommon. It's expressing a single figure of four eighth notes divided between two hands. You will find this and other kind of indications at times that go outside the typical realm of treble clef RH notes and, completely separate, bass clef LH notes.

I'm glad I'm not the only one slacking on the Faber stuff lately! I was home sick today and yesterday and learned a couple more pieces from the Faber Developing Artist Piano Lit Book 1. And I got through maybe two pages of the Faber Adult Book 2. I'm really near the end but I've been distracted with an Easy Piano Lord of the Rings piece and Chopin's Prelude in E Minor No. 4. They're both a bit above me so they took a long time, but I've got them down fairly well now, (you can hear the recordings from the link in my sig). I really need to get back to my Faber book because I would like to begin and complete 3A this year, and I should probably start working on Christmas music soon if I'm going to have it ready in time.

Not terribly common, but not entirely uncommon..... You will find this and other kind of indications at times that go outside the typical realm of treble clef RH notes and, completely separate, bass clef LH notes.

Originally Posted By: ragtimefordrones

I think it was used in this case to make reading easier, but nevertheless I find it strange to just beam all the 1/8 notes together.

Great for sight reading at tempo though.

I'm so used to reading treble and bass line for RH and LH separately and independently. All of a sudden, they put them together, it actually made it more difficult for me to understand...:) It wasn't clear to me when I play the first 1/8 on left hand, should my right hand rest or continue holding the key... that was the confusion I had...

On Friday I'm being swtiched from Faber to one of the ALfred books level 2 or 3 (regular series though.) My teacher is more comfortable with them and hopes to stop me from modifying all the songs! LOL Fabers arrangements just don't sound right and I keep correnting them as I go.

I'll still come and bug you guys though! I will still use the performance, and pop lit. ones to play out of.

Interesting -- the Fabers' arrangements are supposed to be one of the strengths of the books: that students like the music. Can you say what in general doesn't sound right? Harmony? Rhythm? Something else?

I can give an example of one that is driving me crazy right now. In Ode to Joy, in the opening phrase (left hand) the last measure is written as: qe, qd, hd. It normally is written as: dotted qe, 8thd, hd. We had to write that into all of mine. It drove me nuts.

I do like the songs they have, I just can't stand the arrangements! LOL

Ah yes, the dread "we've taught all the notes for this, but not the rhythms, so we'll write it with the wrong rhythm." I'd be interested to know if you find more of the same in Alfred -- it seems to come with the territory of the earlier stages of method books. There were a few like this in Alfred Adult All-In-One book 1.